Otter Creek Books In Order

Publication Order of Otter Creek Books

The “Otter Creek” series are a set of novels by romance and romantic suspense author Rebecca Deel. She was born the daughter of a preacher and earned a black belt in karate. While she has had much success as an author, she still works a day job as a business professor at a private college in Tennessee. She also writes freelance articles, plays piano at church, and runs interference for the Westies who are her family. Deel has been married to her husband for more than two decades and together they have two grown sons. She is a very active member of the women’s group at her church and usually delivers monthly devotions. She has taught on a wide range of topics from money management, personal safety and writing. Her writings have been published in “Co-Laborer, Contact,” “ONE Magazine” and she was also profiled in the “Nashville Christian Family magazine.” Rebecca has a PhD in Economics.

Rebecca Deel got introduced to writing very early as her father was a writer and editor who taught her to love books. As a child, she was a voracious reader and the twelve cases of her books still stand in her parents house. She realized she had a talent for storytelling when she was in elementary school and the teacher gave a story writing assignment to the class. Deel wrote a fifty page long story that had the romance, suspense and mystery that has now become common in her works. But adult responsibilities would get her distracted until her son asked her about how to write a novel and within a week wrote an 8,000 word short story. The feat motivated her to start writing rather than just dabbling and she has never looked back ever since. She planned to become an administrative assistant when she got out of college but soon after went back for her MBA. In the middle of her program, she was invited to teach the two year business program at her alma mater. It was during this time that she met her husband and realized she was a gifted teacher.

The “Otter Creek” series of novels came to her when she had an idea about identical triplet sisters. They had different careers and personalities and lived in a small town in the rural areas. Serena Cahill is the chef she would have liked to have grown up to become. She is a woman who has a close knit family that has been through a lot but used their experiences to grow stronger. Ethan Blackhawk is a man with a lousy home life who had no hope until he was taken in by his aunt. He is drawn to the unique strength of the Cahills and particularly to Serena. Each of the novels in the series tells the story of the Cahill family members. The second novel is the story of Madison while the third is about Megan.

In “Witness” the debut novel of the “Otter Creek” series of novels, Serena Cahill is a personal chef who steps by a client’s house and stumbles into an ongoing crime. She immediately calls the police but she does not know that her client’s assailant is still in the house. Right from the moment the man sees her, her life is changed forever. Ethan Blackhawk, the new chief of police in Otter Creek had been told that the small town had practically no criminal incidents. But in the past few weeks there had been reported assaults, burglaries and now a murder which is svery different picture from what had been painted as a sleepy town. As he is investigating, he learns that he has ties to an international assassin that had eluded him five years past. He finally has the chance to get his man. The problem is that Serena, who he has been falling in love with, is the only witness. He is determined to protect her from anyone and anything that would harm her. When Serena’s friend disappears, she has to work with Ethan to ensure the assassin is neutralized.

In “Hidden Target” the second novel of the series Madison was imprisoned for two years after the deaths of her unborn child and her husband. She had then returned home and opened a yarn store as she tried to put her life back together. But the man that had destroyed her family is back and he has her in his sights. When someone burns down her store and sabotages her car, she knows she has to team up with her former husband’s partner Nick Santana to capture the treacherous killer. She is not going to let him destroy her life without putting up a fight. Nick Santana, the ex-cop, had spent more than two years hunting for the man that had taken out his partner. After there is an attempt on his own life, he finds himself at Madison’s doorstep. Nick is going to catch the deranged killer but he also has to ensure he is not arrested in the attempt. But soon after arriving in town, he is framed for a homicide and the evidence is piled too high that it seems he will be convicted of the crime. Nick now needs to win Madison’s heart and prove that he is innocent of the heinous murder. Madison and Nick do their best to capture the killer but uncovering who he is may not be the best idea.

“Written in Blood” the third novel of the “Otter Creek” series introduces the sassy and feisty editor of the Gazette. Megan has never been afraid to go after a story and get everything she needs to ensure her community is well informed. Things get very interesting when a friend asks for her help and is soon after found murdered. Meg is determined to investigate and find closure for her friend. On the other hand is Rod who has never liked the press as they had blatantly invaded his privacy when his daughter and wife died. But Even though he does not like the press he is going to protect the sassy editor. He admires her determination and spunk even though they disagree on many things. To ensure her safety, he needs to work with her to bring justice to the killer. But the more they learn, the more their lives are put in danger. Over time, they have been growing close and he is now determined to never lose her like he did his daughter and wife.